The present invention relates generally to the production of bent glass sheets and, more particularly, to an improved bearing rail apparatus in a press for bending glass sheets.
Bent sheets of glass are commonly used as glazing closures in vehicles such as automobiles and the like. It is often desirable to shape or form the glass in a manner to carry out styling features found in the adjacent sheet metal components in order to create the appearance of unity between the glass and the sheet metal. For example, in one design, an automotive backlight having inturned side portions extending into the side surface of the vehicle has a main body portion with a "S" shape or reverse bend for gradually merging at its upper and lower ends into the roof line of the vehicle as well as the deck lid, respectively. The attainment of such shapes is virtually impossible with conventional gravity type and press type bending molds. An apparatus for forming such a glazing closure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,746 issued Dec. 15, 1981.
However, it is sometimes necessary to alter the curve of the central portion of the glazing structure from that which is desired for a particular part due to the restricted space provided by the location of the bearings in which the conveyor rails are mounted. This alteration has an affect on the radius of the pillar area and consequently on the amount of curve placed therein during preforming. If an adequate curve is not placed in this area by preforming, more pressure than desired is required by the male mold to properly shape the area to its final curvature. The additional pressure usually results in an unacceptable distortion when thin windshield glass is being pressed.